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Monday, May 5, 2014

Double Swing Change Edge Mohawks

Let's talk about swing mohawks.....

So a swing mohawk starts in this video at 1:29 (This is a former World Champion. Recognize him?)

You're wondering why I'm doing this (torture), right? Well, in the pre-Bronze MITF test there is a section where you do forward crossovers in an 8, then as you complete them, you swing your freeleg forward, bring it to the center of the skating foot, and do a mohawk so you can begin back crossovers.

It's a 'cute little element' but it has a purpose. Imagine now that you are doing forward crossovers around a hockey circle. As you are approaching the space between the two circles, you do your final crossover, stroke onto your OUTSIDE edge, glide forward, then switch your arms so you are now facing into the other circle.

You are on your outside edge and facing out of the original hockey circle and into the new hockey circle. At this point you want to get onto the inside edge of the skating foot. To do that SWING! your free foot forward, then bring it back to the center of the skating foot and do a mohawk.

What I normally do is SWING! my free foot forward, then swing it back PAST! the heel of my skating foot, the SWING! it forward again to the center of the skating foot and do a mohawk.

I call that a double swing change edge mohawk.

What's happening is that when I swing my free foot forward, I'm not getting enough impetus to change edges. When I swing the foot back past the heel, that introduces a tiny bit of drag in the glide, which causes the skating foot to change edge and begin to curve into the circle. Then I can do a mohawk.